NJ Teen Leaps From Seaside Heights Chairlift as Storm Looms

A teen girl jumped from a chair lift in Seaside Heights last weekend to avoid getting struck by lightening during a fast-moving storm.

Melanie Rossomando, 17, told NBCNewYork that she “freaked out” when she saw the ominous dark clouds approaching as she and a friend dangled from the Sky Ride at the Casino Pier amusement park 35-feet above the beach.

The high school senior, who was celebrating her birthday, kicked off her shoes and leaped from the chair in a harrowing feat that was captured on video and posted to YouTube.

“I said, ‘I’ll jump if you jump with me.’ And she said ‘Okay.’ And then right away she jumped and I wasn’t ready for it,” friend Herlide Joseph told CBSNewYork.

The girl was bruised but not otherwise injured, News12 reported.

The operators of the Casino Pier amusement park say the chair ride was in standby mode and no new passengers were being allowed on when the power went out.

They say staff evacuated the remaining riders and they didn't know a rider had jumped off until they saw the video.

A 48-year-old woman died early Sunday after she was struck by lightning on Monmouth Beach.

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